17 MultiColoured Plastic Bangles
by Jennie Exell
Summary: BA Set in the distant Future. Angel and Buffy are married after he got his shanshu, then something terrible happens.


TITLE: 17 Multi-Coloured plastic Bangles  
AUTHOR: Jennie Exell  
EMAIL: 

DISCLAIMER: All stuff BtVS and A:ts belong to joss and co. I'm not making any money from this so don't bother suing me.

RATING: PG I think.  
SPOILERS: general up to the end of both series.

DISTRIBUTION: My Site You want it? Take it! Just tell me where!

SUMMARY: Set in the distant Future. Angel and Buffy are married after he got his shanshu, then something terrible happens.

PAIRING: B/A

Feedback: PLEASE.

_One... Two... Three..._

You could hear the echo from Buffy's shoes all the way down the corridor. She hated this place, she hated hospitals but this was so much worse. She couldn't believe that just six months ago life had been so perfect, she was married, had a daughter, _'She'd be 9 tomorrow'_ she wasn't the only slayer any more, Angel was human and her sister was getting married. Then every thing fell apart. First came Dawn, after being jilted at the altar the taller brunette had taken off, they still didn't know where she was or if she was all right. Buffy had been frantic, but despite all the contacts she and Angel could muster together they hadn't found a single trace of the young woman. But the worst was yet to come.

_Four... Five... Six..._

5 1/2 Months earlier.

"Buffy, I know you want to be here for Dawn but I have to go to work and Emily has to get to the doctors. Help me out Buffy I can't be in two places at once!" Angel was getting desperate, Buffy hadn't left the house since her sisters disappearance two weeks ago, he understood he really did, but his work wouldn't let take any more time off, he'd been running around for two weeks contacting every one he could think in search of the Slayer's missing sister and on top of that he'd had to take on all of Emily's needs and the house work as Buffy wouldn't stray three feet from the phone. He was tired and at his wits end. They had a daughter for Christ's sake! Dawn was a big girl but Emily was only eight, he couldn't do it all on his own no matter how hard he tried.

"But she could call, please Angel your work will understand, I can't leave!"

Angel just sighed in exasperation and grabbed his coat. Taking his daughters hand he left the house without another word, he was too tired, too angry to get into this with Buffy again.

After buckling his daughter into the back seat he, he strode round to his side of the car, and slipped. Landing on his ass, he cursed once again the decision to move to England to be closer to the new watchers council, the winters here were evil! Picking himself up, he got in the car, started it and pulled out into the road.

They were about ten minutes from the doctors when Emily spoke up.

"Dad?"

"Mmm"

"Is aunt Dawn gonna come back?"

Flicking his eyes to meet those of his daughters in the rear view mirror he failed to notice the woman start to cross the road up a head.

" I don't know sweet, I don't know"

As he turned his eyes back to the road he saw her, swerving violently to avoid hitting her the car slid on the black-ice laden road. It all happened so fast, one minute he was in control the next there were screams, his own and his daughters, a sickening crunch and then silence. In the instant before the extent of his head wound made him pass out Angel saw his daughter in the rear view mirror. Centuries of mayhem and bloodshed meant he could recognize a corpse when he saw one. As the darkness of unconsciousness claimed him he knew.

_Seven... Eight... Nine..._

Present,

Now as she entered his room she saw him sat doing what he always did, two piles of broken plastic hoops in front of him. One pile would decrease and the other increase as he meticulously counted the rings. He'd been doing this since the day he'd regained consciousness in the hospital.

5 1/2 months ago

They had just given her, her daughter's jewelry back when he regained consciousness, the funeral would be in two days time. As she entered the room she found two doctors standing lookimg at his chart. One introduced himself as a psychiatrist, the other she knew as Angel's doctor.

"Mrs. Kearns, could we step out-side a moment?"

"Uh sure."

Outside Buffy waited expectantly for the doctor to tell her what was wrong, she knew he was awake; they'd called her on her mobile as she's left the undertakers.

"Mrs. Kearns I'm afraid, we don't have good news. Since he woke up your husband has barely responded to external stimuli, there is no physical or medical reason for his condition, his latest CAT scans show no signs of brain damage. I've asked Dr Askar our resident head of psychiatry to assess Mr. Kearns. He should be able to tell you more, once he's completed his assessment."

Buffy was numb, she bluffed her way through her talk with the psychiatrist, she was just so anxious to see Angel. When she was finally left alone in the room she felt her heart breaking. Angel just sat there staring blankly at nothing, when she turned his head to face her she saw no recognition in his eyes. After a moment Buffy couldn't stand it any more and moved to turn his head away again, when his eyes flicked to her lap where she still held, clutched tightly in her hand, Emily's jewelry.

Carefully she lifted his hand and put the jewelry in it. Angel struggled and sat up, his face still eerily blank, his eyes vacant, and stared into his palm. A silver cross on a chain, a set of white gold stud earrings and 17 multi-coloured plastic bangles. Carefully he set the cross and the studs on the bed in front of him and then meticulously counted the broken bangles.

Two days later Angel had been moved into the home.

_Ten... Eleven... Twelve..._

Present

Buffy had laughed when Emily first got the bangles. There'd been 18 in total, she remembered her daughter telling her two weeks before Christmas that she wanted them. She'd gone back to the store the very next day thinking they would make an excellent stocking filler.

When Emily had unwrapped them, she explained that if you gave one to someone; that made you friends for life. When her daughter had handed her one she'd instantly slipped it on her wrist, and it was still there. Angel had refused his, claiming that it wouldn't fit over his big hands. Emily had pouted, but had quickly forgotten about it when she'd seen her other presents.

Now as she stood in the door way to Angel's room, the man she loved still following the same repetitive motion he had been for the last 5 and half months, she couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes.

_Thirteen... Fourteen... Fifteen..._

Pulling up a chair to his bed Buffy began her nightly ritual. Every night she came from work to sit with him. The staff at the home fed him his breakfast and lunch but Buffy always fed him dinner. 'Baby food' she thought absently. He had to be spoon-fed; he didn't do anything for himself but count bangles.

Once she'd finished with dinner and cleaned him up she started to talk.

"Willow says hey, I think she said she was in Chile, I have to wonder if she'll ever stop traveling. Do you remember all the places you said you'd take me Angel?"

Buffy sighed as, as always she got no response.

"The slayers are doing good, no major injuries this month. Giles says there's a job for you if you want when you're better. He never understood why you never took up his offer before, but maybe you wonna think about it. You know they all love Gunn, he may be wheelchair bound and getting old as they put it, but they love hearing his stories. I guess that's always been true."

Twiddling the bangle on her wrist she looked at him and sighed again.

"Still no word from Dawn. I thought today, what with it being six months, but nothing. Emily would be nine tomorrow do you remember that. I sometimes forget she's gone you know, but then the house is so empty now."

Buffy saw he only had two rings left and then looked at the one on her wrist. Slipping over her hand she added it to the pile _'wouldn't want you getting bored' _and prepared to leave.

_Sixteen... Seventeen..._

"Eighteen... Buffy."

Buffy spun at the sound of his voice. Those were the first words he'd spoken since the accident.

"Angel?"

At the sound of his name he looked up... and burst into sobs.

The End.


End file.
